Centrifugal machine



Nov. 12, 1935. l. H. PECK CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed Nov. 16, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet l 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 16. 1933 Nov. 12, 1935. l. H. PECK v CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed Nov. 16, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 12, 1935. I H PECK CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE Filed Nov. 16, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 3 m in fl w Novjlz, 1935. L H PECK 2,020,959

CENTRIFUGAL MACHI-NE Filed Nov. 16, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 24 Claims.

This invention relates to centrifugal machines and it has special reference to machines used for drying small articles, for example, small metal articles which have been provided with a coating of japan, lacquer, or other liquid coating.

In the drying of small metal articles to which a liquid coating has been applied it has been common to use a centrifugal machine, but the un loading of the contents of the basket of the machine after the articles have been sumciently dried has been a time-consuming and somewhat laborious operation which slowed up production,

One of the objects which I have in view is the provision of a centrifugal drying machine in which the small articles can be quickly and conveniently discharged from the basket after they have been sufficiently dried.

Another object is to provide an improved machine which is useful in connection with the dipping of the articles into the coating liquid, as well as the drying of the articles after they have been dipped.

A further object is to provide a machine which is highly useful and which greatly increases the speed of production in connection with the coating, drying and discharge of small articles of metal to which a coating of japan or the like is applied.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and the combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical central sectional view of a centrifugal machine of one form which embodies the principles of my invention, showing the machine in position for the charging of the articles;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l of the principal parts showing by dotted lines the liquid-holding tank in its highest position and showing in full lines the position of the tank during spinning of the basket;

Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2 but showing the position of the parts when the basket is being discharged of its contents;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the structure for supporting and rotating the basket and for raising the upper portion of the basket to the discharging position;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a further section of certain parts shown in Fig. l illustrating the relation of the tank structure to the column which supports the basket;

Fig. '7 is a top plan view of the upper basket member; and

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the lower member of the basket.

In its general features the machine particularly illustrated herein comprises a tank or receptacle A adapted to hold the coatingliquid, and a basket 5 B adapted to rotate at high speed, the tank A being provided with fluid pressure elevating mechanism C by means of which it may be raised to different heights, as hereinafter pointed out; and the basket B being composed of two principal 10 parts, that is to say, a bottom member D in the form of a plate or platform, and an upper member or cover E adapted to be raised from the platform D when the discharge of the contents of the basket is desired. Located centrally in the 15 liquid tank A is a column-like structure F by meansoi which the basket is supported and rotated and by means of which the cover E of the basket may be raised when this is desired. The tank A provides an enclosing casing for the 20 basket mounted to slide up and down along the columnar structure F.

Referring now to the details of the apparatus as particularly illustrated herein, It will be seen that the base of the machine comprises a heavy casting 15 arranged at the center thereof and located at the floor level, which casting serves as a support for the hollow base or foot portion l6 of the column-like structure F. At its lowermost position the tank A rests immediately above U0 the hollow base portion l6. Integrally joined with the portion 16 and extending upwardly through the. tank is a hollow tubular member or column ll, serving as a mounting for the basket B. The tank A may advantageously be round in shape and it may be provided with a bottom is, a side wall [9, and a depending wall or skirt 26 having telescopic relation to an upstanding circular wall member 21 associated with the base of the machine, the members 20 and 2| serving to close in the lower part of the machine structure which is beneath the tank. The column I1 is stationary and is preferably formed as a part of the same casting as the part IE5. Surrounding member II and spaced therefrom and suitably connected therewith is a cylindrical member 22 preferably of sheet metal, which serves as an inner guide for the tank A as the tank moves upwardly and downwardly. At its central lower portion the tank is provided with a round opening and from this opening extends upwardly a sleeve 23 adapted to slide on the cylindrical member 22. The sleeve 23 extends to a sufficient height within the tank to prevent the 55 amount of clearance.

liquid in the tank from escaping therefrom by flowing over the upper edge of said sleeve.

The bottom plate or platform D of the basket may be of the structure shown in Fig. 8. This plate is of circular form and has a flat peripheral portion 24 adapted to lie in an opening at the upper edge of the tank A. At the upper edge portion of the tank the same is provided with an inwardly extending annular plate 25, and in the position shown in Fig. l the plate member 24 is approximately flush with the plate member 25 and is received within thelatter with only a slight Plate member 25 is secured to the upper edge of the tank wall [9 in any appropriate manner. The plate member 24 of the basket is provided in regions spaced inwardly from its periphery with a plurality of perforations, and this may be accomplished by setting into said plate a screen portion 26 (which may if desired be made in a number of sections) whereby liquid matter is enabled to pass through the bottom member of the basket.

Preferably the plate 2 2 is provided at its periphery with a bevel 24 inclined upwardly and inwardly, and the inner margin of plate 25 is provided with a bevel of the same inclination adapted to be contacted by bevel 24 in order to prevent downward movement of tank A beyond the position shown in Fig. l, in which position the upper surface of plate 24 lies only very slightly above'the upper surface of plate 25.

At its inner part the plate 24 is connected in any suitable manner, as by rivets 2'0, with a horizontal rim 28 of a substantially cylindrical hub 29 which supports the lower part of the basket. The hub 29 is connected by an integral wall or web 39 to a sleeve adapted to be rotated by suitable means, and which in turn causes the rotation of the basket. This sleeve 3| may be keyed by a key 32 to a tubular shaft 33 which is connected at its lower end portion (which lower end portion is disposed within the hollow base portion 56 of the supporting column) to a pulley 34 through which the rotation of the basket is accomplished. The pulley 34 may be provided with a plurality of V-shaped grooves 35 to receive endless ropes 36 driven from an electric motor (not shown) located within the lower part of the apparatus in a suitable location. The pulley 34 is provided with a hub 3'? keyedto the tubular shaft 33 by a key 38, so that whenthe pulley is rotated by the ropes the tubular shaft 33 will be rotated. The lower end portion-of the'tubular shaft '33 is provided with screw threads 39 engaged by a nut lllwhich is clamped against the pulley hub 3'5 and at the upper end of the tubular shaft 335 the same is provided with screw threads M engaged by a nut 42, which is supported against the driving hub of the basket. In this manner .the tubular shaft is firmly and nonrotatively' secured to the basket hub and to the pulley hub. 7

At the open bottom portion of the column member ll a thrust plate 43 is provided which is held in position by bolts 34. 'On top of this thrust plate is an anti-friction bearing comprising an outer race45 supported onplate 43 and an inner. race 46, and tapered rollers ill between the races. Impinging against and supported on the inner race 46 is a floating tube 18 conforming closely to the tubular shaft 33. The upper edge .of the floating tube QB engages the inner racewaydt of a bearing similar to that previously described having an outer raceway and tapered rollers St. The lower edge portion 3N of hub 31 impinges against and is supported by the inner raceway 45.

The upper member E of the basket B is preferably made in two principal parts, i. e., an upper casting 52 having spider-like arms 53 connected with the central hub 54, and a depending wall 'member 55 adapted to makecontact at its lower edge with the bottom plate of the basket. The member 52 may advantageously have a short. down-turned rim or flange portion 56 having a 1 plurality of lateral openings therein provided with screens 51 whereby the depending wall is provided with perforations so that liquid can pass laterally from the basket at the upper portion thereof. The wall member 55 may be1 constructed of light sheet metal and may be fastened 'tomember 52 by means such as rivets 58. The wall. 55 is preferably inclined slightly in an inward and. downward direction and at its lower edge it is adapted to rest on the plate mem- 2 her 24 in the manner shown in Fig. 1, for example. The lower edge of the wall 55 may advantageously be provided with a small exterior reinforcing ring 59. I

The upper member E of the basket is adapted g to be raised by a member suitably connected to the central or hub portion of the member 52. In the form shown, the hub 54 of member 52 is attached to the upper end portion 66 of a vertically movable rod 5!, which extends downwardly through the tubular or hollow shaft member 33 previously described. The portion 60 of red 6! may be of tapered form and the hub 54 may be keyed thereto by a key 62, and the upper end portion of part 56 may have exterior screw threads 63 engaged by a nut 8 supported on hub 54 in: order that the rod 6! may be fastened securely and non-rotatively to the upper member of the basket. At its lower end the rod 6% rests on a piston 65 in a fluid pressure cylinder 4 G arranged centrally of the apparatus within the base thereof, andby admitting fluid to cylinder G by a pipe 85, rod 5| may be moved upwardly to elevate the basket cover to the required elevation. The cylinderG may advantageously be located within the hollow castings i5 and I6 previously described.

The elevating mechanism 0 for the tank A may advantageously comprise upright cylinders 67' individually supplied with fluid coming from a suit- 5 able source through inlet pipes 68. Within the cylinders El are pistons 65 which support the tank A from the bottom. In the form shown the pistons 55 are connected with the yokes Ill, and the yokes it are arranged so that one end of each yoke extends under and supports a circular I-beam ll depending from the tank bottom, whereas the other end of the yoke underlies and supports another circular depending I-beam I2. The tank A may advantageously be provided 6 with an overfiowpipe '53 passing through the bottom thereof, the upper end of said pipe being located at such a height as to maintain the body of liquid in the tank A atthe required level. Connected to 'pipe 73 is a pipe 14 and to the latter (51 5' may be connected a rubber hose (not shown) for conducting the liquid from thetank to any use of a treadle ll passing outwardly through 7 basket.

a suitable opening in the casing of the apparatus at the lower part thereof. In Figs. 2 and 3 the showing of the braking means is omitted.

It will be observed that the ropes passing to the pulley as may be conducted through the base member I6 of the column structure by way of an opening or cut-out l3 provided for the purpose.

In order to prevent rotation of the tank A relatively to the column structure F, the sleeve 23, which extends upwardly within the tank at its central portion, has a vertical slot '59, as shown in Fig. 5, in which is located a cleat 80 having rigid relation to the column. The cleat 8!) is covered by a wall portion 3i connected to and forming a continuation of the part 3. Screws 8,2 connect the cleat ii to the cylindrical member 22, and in turn connect the cylindrical member 22 to the hollow column member H. The latter member is provided with a plurality of radial ribs H spacing the member 22 from member ll, and the screws 82 engage threaded sockets, in one of these ribs. Additional screws (not shown) may be employed for securing together the members 22 and H at other points. By the construction described the cylindrical tank member 23 is guided for sliding movement in an upward and downward direction on the cylindrical member 22, but relative rotation of these members is prevented.

The operation of the apparatus is substantially .as follows: When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. l the apparatus is ready for charging of the basket. Supposing that the apparatus is to be used for applying a coating of japan or other liquid coating to small metal articles, the

'articles after being prepared for coating in the usual manner will be introduced into the basket B through the open top thereof. This can be done very readily as in this position of the apparatus the basket is at a higher elevation than the tank and is thus very easily accessible for the purpose of charging the basket. After the articles have been placed in the basket the next step is to dip the articles, and for this purpose the tank A, which is filled with liquid up to the required level, is raised by the elevating mechanism C to such a position that the liquid in the tank will be carried up to and over the articles in the basket. In this operation the tank will be elevated to about the position shown in the dotted lines at the upper part of Fig. 2. The liquid having been placed in position where it covers all of the articles in the basket, the tank is then lowered into the full-line position shown in Fig. which is the position for spinning the As will be evident, this position of the tank is an intermediate position, and of course in this position there should be ample clearance between the top surface of the liquid in the tank and the bottom of the basket so that the rotation of the basket will not cause sucking up of the upper surface of the body of liquid to a sufficient height to cause the liquid to come in contact with the articles. With the tank held at the proper elevation, as thus described, the basket containing the articles is rotated by rotation of the pulley 34 in an obvious manner, and after the rotation has been continued for a sumcient length of time the articles will be dried owing to the centrifugal action and the driving off of the excess liquid thorugh the lateral openings in the upper part of the basket. It will be evident that the lower member of the basket is rotated by drive of the tubular shaft 35, and that the upper member of the basket will be rotated as a result of the rotation of the lower member.

After the articles have been dried as described, the next step is to discharge them from the basket. For this purpose the tank A (which has previously been in position to receive the liquid passing laterally from the upper part of the basket) is lowered to a position in which it clears the basket, and this position is preferably the one shown in Fig. 1 where the bottom plate of the basket is substantially flush with the upper inwardly extending wall of the tank. The basket 10 being in rotation at this time, it is merely necessary in order to effect discharge to raise the upper member of the basket away from the lower member by actuating the cylinder and piston mechanism G, 35, so that the upper part of the basket is raised to a position such as shown in Fig. 3. The upward movement of the rod 6i, caused by the upward movement of the piston 65, brings about the lifting of the upper part of the basket away from the bottom plate. The bottom plate being thus unobstructed, the rotation of said plate causes the articles to be thrown off centrifugally from the plate. These articles are usually thrown laterally over the upper wall at the rim of the tank, and they may be received in any suitable receptacles as may be required, or other means may be provided for their accommodation or collection.

After discharge of the contents of the basket the release of pressure within the cylinder G will permit the upper member of the basket to drop down against the lower member, and upon arresting rotation of the lower member the apparatus will be in position for receiving a further load of material. I have not considered it necessary to show all the connections for controlling the movement of the fluid pressure pistons used in the apparatus, as controlling devices suitable for the purposes in view are well known.

By providing the basket with the beveled surface M to be contacted by a corresponding beveled surface at the upper end portion of the tank or receptacle, stop'means are provided for arresting relative movement of the basket and receptacle, and more particularly for stopping the downward movement of the receptacle so that its upper edge will be slightly below the surface of the basket across which the material leaves the basket in being discharged therefrom.

One of the primary advantages of my improved apparatus is that after the drying of the articles in the basket the discharge of the latter can be effected with great expedition. I-Ieretofore it has been necessary to remove the contents of the basket by scooping out the articles by gaining access to the basket from the top, but this is a laborious and time-consuming procedure that is obviated by the use of my apparatus. Another considerable advantage which accrues from the use of my improvements is that the dipping of the articles as well as the drying thereof and their discharge from the apparatus can be conducted with convenience, facility, and speed. In practice the use of the apparatus increases production very considerably as compared with previous methods.

While I have shown and described only a single embodiment of my invention, this being considered sufficient for illustrative purposes, it is to be understood that the invention may take many different embodiments and forms without departure from the underlying principles upon which my apparatus is constructed and operated. Many changes may be made from the detailed construction herein particularly described 7 .ceptacle is more important.

without departure from the inventive concept as expressed in the claims. It is of course to be understood that the device may be used for treating or separating other materials than those particularly mentioned above, and that in some aspects of the invention the character of the basket is of importance without regard to the particular form of easing used in connection therewith, while in other aspects the character of the casing or re- It will be evident that in the broadest aspects of the invention I do not limit myself to an apparatus in which the member to be moved for bringing about lateral discharge of the basket contents clear of the casing member is the casing member itself.

What I claim is:

1. In a centrifugal machine, a basket comprising a bottom plate, and a coveradapted to be 2. In a centrifugal machine, a basket comprising a flat bottom plate member, a hub member connected to said bottom plate member for rotating the same, a cover member having a downwardly and inwardly inclined substantially imperforate wall adapted to rest at its lower edge on said plate member in a region adjacent the periphery of said plate member, said cover member having liquid escape openings in the upper pe- 'ripheral portion thereof, a hub member for said cover member, and means connected with said last-named hub member for elevating the cover member away from the plate member.

3. In a centrifugal machine, a rotary two-part basket, of which one part is adapted to be raised away from the other to cause centrifugal disi charge of the solid contents of the basket, a casing member, and means 'mounting said member so that it is movable upwardly to enclose the basket and downwardly to clear the basket and provide centrifugal discharge thereof exteriorly of said member.

4. In a centrifugal machine, a rotary basket comprising relatively movable members adapted to be separated to cause centrifugal discharge of the basket contents, means for separating said members and a movable casing member having one position in which it encloses the basket and another position in which'it clears the basket so that thedischarging basket contents are thrown laterally outward past the end of the casing.

5. In a centrifugal machine, a rotary perforate basket adapted to hold small articles and having relatively movable parts adapted to be separated to cause centrifugal discharge of said articles, and a liquid-holding receptacle associated with said basket and movable to a basket-enclosing position for causing coating of the basket contents, to another basket-enclosing position for causing drying of the basket contents, and to a third position in which it is removed from and clears the.

article-discharging portion of the basket so that the articles are thrown from the basket laterally past and clear of the receptacle.

6. In a centrifugal machine, a perforate basket having relatively movable parts adapted to be separated for causing centrifugal discharge'of the solid contents, means for separating the basket parts to effect discharge, and a movable casing having a position in which it'encloses the basket when the latter is in rotation for receiving liquid from thebasket contents, and another 5 position in which it is clear of the basket so that the discharging solid contents are thrown by centrifugal force laterally past the easing into a space outside the: casing.

7. In a machine such as described, a basket comprising a' substantially flat bottom 'plate having a zone of perforations therethrough spaced inwardly from the margin thereof, a hub member by which said bottom plate is rotated, a, cover element having a downwardly and inwardly inclined substantially imperforate wall adapted to rest at its lower edge upon the upper surface of the bottom plate outside of the zone ofperforations in said plate, said cover having in the upper part thereof lateral openings for the discharge of liquid whereby liquid'on articles within the basket will be caused to move upwardly over said inclined wall and to said openings "as the basket rotates, a receptacle enclosing the basket and adapted'to receive said liquid and liquid escaping downwardly from the basket through the aforesaid perforations, a hub member on said cover element, and means attached to said hub member and movable upwardly for raising the coverelement away from said bottom plate so as to effect discharge of the articles supported on the bottom plate. 7

8. In a machine such as described, a basket comprising a substantially flat bottom plate having a zone of perforations therethrough 85 spaced inwardly from the margin thereof, a hub member by which said bottom plate is rotated, a cover element having a downwardly and inwardly inclined substantially imperforate wall adapted to rest at its lower edge upon the upper surface 40 of the bottom plate outside of the zone of per forations in said plate, said cover having in the upper part thereof lateral openings for the discharge of liquid whereby liquid on articles within the basket will be caused to move upwardly over said inclined wall and to said openings as the basket rotates, a receptacle enclosing the basket and adapted to receive said liquid and liquid escaping downwardly from the basket through the aforesaid perforations, a hub member on said cover element, and means'attached to said hub member and movable upwardly for raising the cover element away from said bottomplate so as to effect discharge of the articles supported on the bottom plate, said receptacle being movable wardly and inwardly inclined substantially irnperforate wall adapted to rest at its lower edge upon the upper surface of the bottom plate, said cover being provided with liquid escape'openings in the upper part thereof above said substantially imperforate inclined wall and said bottom plate being provided with a plurality of liquid escape perforations disposed inwardly of that part of the 'bottom'plate contacted by said downwardly and inwardly inclined wall, a receptacle adapted to receive liquid escapingfrom said liquid escape 7,5.

openings of the cover and from the perforations of the bottom plate, and means for raising the cover to effect discharge of the basket.

10. In a coating and drying machine, a basket comprising a bottom plate having perforations therein, a cover adapted to be raised upwardly from the bottom plate, said cover having liquid escape openings in the upper part thereof, means for raising the cover, and a receptacle movably mounted with respect to the basket and having a position in which the liquid contents of the receptacle surround articles in the basket to coat the same, another position in which the basket is rotated clear of the body of liquid in the receptacle but within the upper part of the receptacle so that liquid passing through said liquid escape openings of the cover or through the perforations of the bottom plate is received in the receptacle, and a third position in which the receptacle is moved out of the path of articles being discharged from the bottom plate of the basket so that the said articles are discharged exteriorly of the receptacle, said cover-raising means being effective when said receptacle is in said lastna'med position.

11. In a coating and drying machine, a twopart basket adapted to have the parts separated to discharge the solid contents thereof, means for moving one part of the basket away from the other part, said basket having liquid discharge openings through the bottom thereof and further liquid discharge openings in the side wall thereof adjacent the upper part of said side wall, and a receptacle adapted to hold coating liquid and mounted to move relatively to the basket so that it has a position in which the body of coating liquid in the receptacle surrounds the articles in the basket to coat the same, another position in which the body of liquid in the receptacle is clear of the basket so that the basket can be rotated to dry the articles, said receptacle in the latter position receiving liquid from the aforesaid liquid escape openings of the basket, and said receptacle having a third position in which its side wall is out of the path of articles being discharged from the basket so that said articles are discharged exteriorly of said receptacle.

12. In a coating and drying machine, a rotary basket element composed of two parts adapted to be separated from each other to permit discharge of the solid contents of the basket, said basket liquid escape openings therein, means for moving one part of the basket away from the other to permit discharge of the basket, a receptacle element, and means for effecting relative movement of the basket element and the receptacle element in a direction axially of the basket so that in one position the body of liquid in the receptacle surrounds and coats the articles contained in the basket, while in another position the basket can be rotated clear of said body of liquid so as to drive oif excess liquid on said articles into the interior of the receptacle to be added to the body of liquid therein, said elements also being relatively movable in a direction axially of the basket to a third position in which the lateral wall of the receptacle is out of the path of articles being discharged from the basket exteriorly of the receptacle.

13. In a coating and drying machine, a column, a bottom plate member supported from the upper part of said column, means for rotating said bottom plate member, said member being provided with a flat portion having a plurality of perforations spaced inwardly from its outer edge, a cover member having a substantially imperforate downwardly and inwardly inclined wall adapted to rest upon said bottom plate member outwardly of said perforations, said cover member having liquid escape openings in the upper part thereof above said inclined wall, means associated With said column for raising said cover member relatively to said plate member, a tank surrounding and slidably mounted'with reference to said column, said tank having a position in which its lateral wall is below said bottom plate so that articles can be discharged from the bottom plate exteriorly of said tank, and means for raising said tank into a position in which its lateral wall lies in the path of and catches liquid being discharged from the basket by way of said liquid escape openings and to a further position in which the body of liquid in the tank surrounds and coats articles within the basket.

14. In a centrifugal machine, a basket having relatively movable parts, one of said parts being a perforated bottom member and the other of said parts being a cover member movable upwardly to separate it from the bottom member and effect discharge of the solid contents of the basket, said cover member having liquid escape openings in the upper part thereof, and a tank which is movable to one position for coating the basket contents, to another position to permit drying of the basket contents, and to a third position to permit discharge of the basket contents exteriorly of the tank, said liquid escape openings of the basket discharging liquid into the tank when the latter is in the second-named position and the perforations of the bottom member discharging liquid into the tank when the tank is in the third named position as well as in the second-named position.

15. In a centrifugal machine, a basket having relatively movable parts, one of saidparts being a perforated bottom member and the other of said parts being a cover member movable upwardly to separate it from the bottom member and efiect discharge of the solid contents of the basket, said cover member having liquid escape openings in the upper part thereof, a tank which is movable to one position for coating the basket contents, to another position to permit drying of the basket contents, and to a third position to permit discharge of the basket contents exteriorly of the tank, said liquid escape openings of the basket discharging liquid into the tank when the latter is in the second-named position and the perforations of the bottom member discharging liquid into the tank when the tank is in the thirdnamed position as well as in the second-named position, saidthird position of the tank being its lowermost position, means for arresting the downward movement of the tank at the proper point relatively to the basket, and means for raising the tank to the other two positions.

16. In a liquid coating and drying machine, the combination of a rotary basket adapted to hold small articles of hardware, said basket having liquid escape openings in the upper part thereof for throwing off excess liquid by centrifugal action and being divided into two parts which are separable from each other to discharge the articles peripherally while the basket is in rotation, and a liquid-holding casing surrounding the basket to coat the articles therein, said casing being movable downwardly to a position in which it receives liquid from said liquid escape openings and being movable downwardly to a greater extent so that the K articles being discharged from the basket will be thrown clear of said casing.

17. In a coating and drying machine, a rotary perforated substantially flat bottom plate, a rotary cover element having a downwardly and in- .wardly inclined substantially imperforate side wall, the lower edge of which is adapted to rest on and against the upper surface of said bottom plate outside of the perforations in the, bottom 7 plate, said cover element having lateral liquid escape openings at the upper part thereof above said inclined wall, said bottom plate adapted to support small articles of hardware and said liquid escape openings serving to carry off excess liquid on said articles, means for raising said cover element from the bottom plate, and a liquid-containing casing movable upwardly relatively to said bottom plate to cause liquid in said casing to pass through the perforations in the bottom plate and surround and coat articles supported on said 'article of hardware and having liquid draining openings in the bottom and liquid escape openings in the upper part through which excess liquid is: discharged peripherally, the upper part of said basket being adapted to be raised away from the lower part to cause centrifugal discharge of the articles, and a liquid-containing tank movable upwardly to enclose the basket and movable downwardly to clear the discharging portion of the basket so that the articles being discharged from the basket are thrown outside of the tank.

19. In a coating and drying machine, a rotary perforated substantially flat bottom plate, a ro-- tary cover element adapted to hold small articles of hardware on said bottom plate, means for raising said cover element from said'bottom plate so as to cause centrifugal discharge of said articles from said plate, a liquid-containing casing, and means mounting said casing so that it is: movable upwardly to cause liquid in said casing to pass through the perforations in the bottom.

plate and coat the articles supported thereon and a movable liquid-containing casing member, and

means movably mounting said casing member so that in one position it encloses the basket and in another position is below the bottom plate so that the solid contents of the basket are thrown lat- V erally outward past said casing member.

21. In a coating and drying machine, a rotary said casing and to the exterior perforate basket adapted tohold small articles and having relatively movable parts adapted to be separated to cause centrifugal discharge of said articles, means for so separating the basket parts, and a liquid-holding receptacle associated *5 Q with said basket, said liquid-holding receptacle and basket being mounted for movement rela-- tively to each other so that the receptacle has a basket-enclosing position for causing coating of the basket contents and another position in which 10 said receptacle is disposed below the discharging portion of the basket so that the articles being centrifugally discharged from the basket are thrown across the end of the receptacle to the exterior thereof.

22. In a coating and drying machine, a basket comprising a perforated bottom plate adapted to support small articles, and a cover adapted to hold articles on said plate, said cover having liquid escape openings in the upper portion thereof, 20 means for raising the cover from the bottom plate to cause discharge of the basket, a liquid-hold ing receptacle, and means mounting said basket and receptacle for movement relatively to each other so that the receptacle has a baisket-enclos- 25 ing position for causing coating of the basket contents and a further position in which articles being discharged centrifugally from the basket are thrown across the end of the receptacle to the exterior thereof. 30

' adapted to support small articles,'anda cover element adapted to hold said articles on said bottom openings in the upper part thereof, means for raising the cover element away from the bottom plate to cause centrifugal discharge of the articles, a liquid receptacle, and means mounting said liquid receptacle so that it is movable upwardly 40 to enclose the basket and movable downwardly to a position in which its upper edge is below the path of articles being centrifugally discharged from the bottom plate.

24. In a coating and drying machine, a rotary basket element adapted to hold small articles and composed of two parts, the lower part being in the form of a substantially flat'plate and the upper part comprising a cover adapted to be raised away from said plate to permit discharge of articles from said plate, said basket having liquid escape openings therein, means formoving the upper part of the basket away from the lower part, a receptacle element adapted to hold a body of liquid, and'means for effecting movement of 5:, the receptacle element in a vertical direction with respect to the basket element so that in one position the body of liquid in the receptacle surrounds and coats the articles contained in the basket,

while in another position of the receptacle'tne basket can be rotated clear of said body of liquid so as to drive off excess liquid on said articles intothe interior of the receptacle to be added to the body of liquid therein, said receptacle also being movable downwardly from the second position 65 i into a third'position in which'its side wall is sub-' stantially out of the path of articles, being discharged from the lower part of the basket,

IRVING H. PECK. 70 

